Montréal welcomes over 3,000 new Canadians

MONTRÉAL, June 30, 2014 /CNW/ - More than 3,000 individuals from 135
countries became Canadian citizens at ceremonies held in downtown
Montréal and Québec City this month, Canada's Citizenship and
Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced today.

Ceremonies like these demonstrate how the government is working to make
the citizenship program more efficient, helping more people realize
sooner their dream of becoming Canadian. The government's recent
changes to the Citizenship Act will further reduce wait times by streamlining the decision-making
process for citizenship. It is expected that these changes will bring
the average processing time for citizenship applications down to under
one year, and that the current backlog will be reduced by more than 80
percent by April 2016.

Quick facts

Since 2006, Canada has enjoyed the highest sustained levels of
immigration in Canadian history¾an average of a quarter million
newcomers each year.

So far in 2014, Canada has welcomed approximately 122,000 new citizens.

On June 19, 2014, Bill C-24, Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, became law. The new provisions strengthen the integrity of the
citizenship system and reduce processing times for citizenship
applications.

Over 19,400 new citizens have been welcomed in Montréal so far in
2014¾more than double the number of newly naturalized Canadians over
the same period in 2013.

Quote

"The increasingly high number of individuals taking on the full
responsibility of citizenship and committing to Canadian values and
traditions shows the high value of Canadian citizenship. It also
demonstrates that our government's efforts to improve the citizenship
program and decrease wait times are working. On behalf of all
Canadians, I would like to congratulate these new citizens, and welcome
them to the Canadian family."

Building a stronger Canada: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) strengthens Canada's economic, social and cultural prosperity, helping ensure Canadian safety and security while managing one of the largest and most generous immigration programs in the world.